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Proactive Tips for Protecting Yourself as a Real Estate Agent
As an agent, you work diligently to make sure that your real estate business is doing its very best. Part of growing a real estate business is working with people you are not familiar with. Usually working with new people is an exciting perk of a real estate career, but you should always be aware of the potential dangers involved with meeting strangers. Your safety should play an integral role in your career. Whether you're doing a showing, traveling in the car, or just beginning the paperwork for the sale or purchase of a home, you should consider how you can protect yourself should the situation call for it. Open Houses When working an open house, you will be going into home to show it to potential buyers. Prior to hosting the open house, tell a coworker or your broker where you'll be and how long you'll be there. One option to make sure everyone knows where you will be is to set a calendar invite and share it with your colleagues, making sure to include the date, time, and location of where you will be. Also, when you host an open house, pay close attention to those who enter and leave the home. Before you lock up at the end of the open house, go through the house to make sure that everyone has left. When checking the home to make sure that everyone has left, you should make sure to do this safely. You can try leaving the blinds fully open to the home or maybe go through the home with a colleague on the phone with you. In the Car As a real estate agent, you likely spend large quantities of time in your car. Make sure you stay safe by taking regular precautions to avoid any breakdowns. Take your car in for regular maintenance as needed so that your car is able to perform at its very best. And, as a general rule of thumb, make sure that you keep the fuel in your car at least half full. Identification and Meeting Someone New Identity theft is alive and well, especially in the real estate world. When it comes to filling out important paperwork, or even just meeting a new client, make sure you verify the identification of the potential client. Ask for at least two forms of identification when there are major documents that need to be signed. When it comes to meeting someone new for the first time, take the extra step to meet the new client in a public place such as a local coffee shop or your office. Taking this step to vet the potential client can help ensure that the person is who they say they are and that they are truly interested in a home. Staying safe as an agent is incredibly important for you. You will be working with many new faces and showing many homes for sale. Take time to be cautious and stay safe out there! To view the original article, visit the Homes.com

Tips for Staying Safe During Showings (and Beyond)
Real estate agent safety is an important topic that is often overlooked in many discussions. While no one plans to be in a dangerous situation, agents should be prepared for any possibility. In the most recent Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar, "Don't Be a Statistic," Jay Thompson shares some of his best safety tips to help agents be more aware and create a safety plan. Entering the real estate industry in 2004, Thompson started out in the Phoenix, Arizona market. He worked three years as an agent before transitioning to open his own independent brokerage. In 2012, Thompson switched roles and began working for Zillow as their Directory of Industry Outreach, a position he held for seven years until his retirement. While Thompson jokes that he is "retired," he currently owns his own consulting business and shares his knowledge of real estate with weekly news articles. He prides himself for his role on the Beverly Carter Foundation's board of directors, whose purpose is to raise awareness about "lone worker" safety. Safety is all about awareness At the beginning of his webinar, Thompson shares that real estate agents are often called "lone workers," because they spend many of their working hours alone. Agents are often put in vulnerable situations, as they're showing homes to and hosting open houses for strangers. Thompsons mentions that they are most vulnerable when they are showing homes, as they're alone with a stranger at a property. While women in the real estate industry are targeted more often, many men are victims as well. Thompson stresses that, while most agents will not have an issue with their safety being compromised, it's better to be knowledgeable and prepared. He suggests that it may be useful to think about potential situations and rehearse a script of what you would say if ever faced with an off-putting client. Thompson likens this to agents preparing an objection script and says a similar idea could be applied. The reaction could come more naturally if you've prepared, as the muscle memory—both physical and mental—would be there. Go with your gut Overall, Thompson says that "awareness is the key" when preventing these types of situations. By understanding when and how these threats take place, agents can be more prepared and hopefully avoid these safety risks. One of Thompson's main points is, "if something doesn't feel right, there's a very good chance that it's not right." He also tells listeners to "trust your gut," because human instinct is usually right. He assures listeners that if they act on an instinct and they're wrong, the outcome is far better than if they didn't act and they were right. "It's far better to err on the side of safety and awareness than it is to fall victim to someone," Thompson comments. Be proactive rather than reactive It's important to be proactive rather than reactive. When you're reactive, you're already in that situation to begin with and need to find a way out. Thompson says it's better to pay attention to the warning signs in order to avoid the situation altogether. When you're at an open house, it's important to practice situational awareness. Situational awareness means being aware of the situation that you're in. Thompson gives an example of this by describing a training exercise in which a person enters a room for 15 seconds and is then asked to give details about the room. At an open house, for example, be aware of all the entrances, find out whether the neighbors will be home, and locate the closest police station. Beware of financial scammers While physical safety is a top concern, Thompson mentions agents should also consider their financial safety, especially for crimes like wire fraud. He uses the example of a scammer sending an email from what appears to be a title company asking buyers to send their banking information to complete their transaction. Agents should be screening their messages and keep in mind that almost every institution will never ask for secure information through text or email. Safety solutions Thompson offers a few different options for reactionary safety measures. However, he stresses that these options are still not foolproof and are not preventative measures. He says that they're better than nothing, but they aren't the best. Forewarn is a preventative app that offers an easy way to do a background check on a potential client. While Thompons encourages agents to set up an initial public meeting for a new client, he says that this app will use a client's phone number to check public databases to see whether the person has a criminal history. Real Safe Agent is another preventative app, but this one is community based. While it offers some basic background checks, its main feature is you can use it to send a message to agents near your location, asking someone close to check in and pretend they're previewing the listing. It also lets agents rank local clients and give information about their exchange history. Invisiwear is a wearable that comes in the form of jewelry. If an agent feels like they're in danger, they can squeeze the pendant and it will alert 911 that they need help. Wearsafe is another wearable and comes as a FOB that can be clipped onto a purse, belt, pocket, etc. It can also alert the police or a contact if a dangerous situation arises. Thompson mentions that there are many weapons options, including handguns, pepper spray, self-defense classes, etc. A concealed weapon is a potential safety solution, but agents have to practice with it and be prepared to use it. Thompson says that "you better train a lot and you better train frequently." However, he also reminds listeners that an assailant can take a weapon away and use it against you. He states that it's a tool, but it's not a guarantee of safety. Overall, agents should review safety protocols, trainings, and checklists to help prepare and become more aware of their safety. To learn more of Thompson's safety tips, you can join the Secrets of Top Selling Agents Facebook Group here. For more free real estate education, including best practices, visit the Secrets of Top Selling Agents website. To view the original article, visit the Homes.com

How Safe Is Your Computer? Check Out This Safety Checklist!
How safe is your computer? That's a question all real estate agents are asking now more than ever since most are working from home, either part-time or full-time. The good news is that today's updated personal computers have more built-in safety features than ever. New operating systems like Windows 10 and the latest versions from Apple can help keep you safe. The bad news is that no matter how secure you think your computer may be, there remains a risk that you could get hacked. The fact is that cyberattacks can occur in a variety of ways, including routine things you may do when surfing the web. Malware still can infect your computer, and cybercriminals may steal personal information about you online. What should you do? Go through a safety checklist of the simple measures you can take to keep your computer from being compromised. Below is a quick checklist to bolster your computer's security. And if you need help with any of these items, please give reach out to us at Tech Helpline by giving us a call, chat or email and ask for help. Computer Safety Checklist Antivirus and anti-Spyware programs Ensure you have updated antivirus and anti-Spyware programs installed on your computer to keep you safeguarded from malicious programs slowing you down or losing data. Malware and spyware programs remain prevalent, and new ones are being released all the time, so be sure to protect yourself. Keep your software up to date For trusted software, especially your primary web browser, the best practice is to have it set up for automatic updates. You should still routinely make sure you have the most recent version installed to safeguard your computer. Using automatic updates can keep your computer running smoothly and protect it from outside attacks. Back up your data What would happen if your computer crashed and you lost all your files? Do you have a current backup of everything? If not, how many crucial files would you lose? Backing up your data to a portable hard drive or online data vault, like Google Docs or Dropbox, routinely allows you to recover what you lost. Use your firewall A firewall is crucial for keeping your information secure. A firewall helps protect you and your clients' files from being stolen by hackers. But you have to make sure your firewall is turned on when accessing the internet. If you don't, you are putting your and your clients' personal information at greater risk. Use strong passwords Most of us use easy passwords because we can remember them, saving time. But web browsers and computer operating systems are becoming smarter and can create — and remember — complicated passwords for you. Creating different standard password variations may be convenient, but it puts you at greater risk since cybercriminals look for folks who don't use complicated passwords. Make sure you create strong passwords using a random mix of letters, numbers, and permitted symbols. Be creative and you can create strong passwords that are recognizable to you yet different for every account you have. Secure your Wi-Fi network Make sure your home Wi-Fi is secure and uses a strong password for protection. Remember that public Wi-Fi offerings are often not safe. Be very careful about your online activities when using any open network (don't go into your online banking account), as they are easy to hack. Be careful opening any email attachment The safest practice is only to open attachments that you expect to receive from trusted senders. Always pause before you open any file, even if it appears to be from someone you know, and look at the sender's email address to be sure it is really them. Unfortunately, computer viruses can be hidden with a file or what appears to be a trustworthy link. Stay safe online Avoid clicking on links on websites you don't know. If you think it might be a bad website, it probably is. Keep in mind that a single click could result in a malware infection. Again, if you need assistance with any of the items on this checklist – or with any other tech question you have – Tech Helpline is ready to help you! To view the original article, visit the Tech Helpline